Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (Hansard, 1 March 2000)

§ Mr. Baker
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is his policy in respect of the addition of methyl tertiary butyl ether to petrol; and if he will make a statement. [111892]

§ Mr. Hill
The Government remain neutral on the use of MTBE in petrol. It can provide worthwhile improvements in air quality through the reduction of vehicle pollutants, e.g. carbon monoxide by 25 per cent. and hydrocarbons by 15 per cent. On the other hand, not all petrol sold in the United Kingdom contains MTBE. The average concentration of MTBE in UK petrol is about 1 per cent., well below that permitted under EU law.

§ Mr. Baker
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is the maximum concentration of methyl tertiary butyl ether allowed in petrol. [111893]

§ Mr. Hill
Directive 98/70/EC stipulates that member states may not prevent, restrict or discourage production, marketing and free movement of blended petrol that contains 15 per cent. or less MTBE by volume. This requirement has been implemented in UK law by the Motor Fuel (Composition and Content) Regulations 1999.

§ Mr. Baker
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the locations where methyl tertiary butyl ether has been found in groundwater supplies in excess of maximum safe levels in the past three years. [111894]

§ Mr. Mullin
Environment Agency monitoring of groundwater has not encountered any concentrations of MTBE which the Agency considers excessive. The Agency is currently undertaking a research project on the incidence of MTBE in England and Wales, the results of which will be available this summer.